Biometrics Worked! U.S. Border Patrol Celebrates Success of Early Tech

Biometric identification—which uses a mix of eye, fingerprint, and facials scans to confirm your identity at airports—is going to change the way we travel this year, Traveler's Barbara Peterson predicted in December. As of this this week, she's right on the money. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport caught its first "imposter" using biometrics on Wednesday, when a man coming into the U.S. from São Paulo on a French passport didn't "match to the passport he presented" after a facial scan, the CBP reports.

The customs officer then sent the traveler for further questioning and an examination, at which point the man became "visibly nervous," the CBP said. The team later found his actual ID, from the Republic of Congo, in the man's shoe and he's now being investigated by the CBP. The most impressive fact? The facial biometric entry program was put in place just two days earlier. Call this a win for the CBP.

Biometric tech helps airports, airlines, and the CBP in two ways. Primarily, it speeds up immigration, boarding, and even baggage checks at airports in Detroit, New York City (JFK), Los Angeles, and Orlando where it's been installed. Lufthansa has touted its ability to board some 350 passengers onto an A380 in 20 minutes, thanks to facials scans that are sent and checked against the existing CBP photo databasein just seconds.

The other improvement? The new facial recognition technology "virtually eliminates the ability for someone to use a genuine document that was issued to someone else,” according to Casey Durst, the director of the CBP's Baltimore office.

Not everyone is on board with this new facial recognition–driven world. Privacy concerns have emerged: While the CBP keeps a database of passport photos and visas, these facial scans provide new data without official use guidelines yet, according to Skift. Know that if you're uncomfortable with a face scan—and an American citizen—you can decline the biometric experiment.